


Weather Magic

by Kiraly



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Dreamworld Bonding, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 03:17:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8429422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Reynir tries to be as helpful as he can, even though he isn't really supposed to be on the expedition at all. Since it turns out he's a mage, maybe he can do some good even when he's sleeping?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lunarium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this extra little treat, Trick-or-Treater! Rumor has it these two are your favorites. (Even if this isn't as shippy as I intended, oops).

A flash of lightning lit up the inside of the tank. Thunder rolled a moment later, loud against the muffled sounds of breathing and occasional snores. Reynir used the noise to drown out his footfalls as he crept into the bunk room. Everyone else slept; after a long day of slogging through the rain or poring over old books, they needed their rest. Since Reynir wasn’t supposed to be there and didn’t have a real job, he did his best to make things easier for the rest of them. He didn’t mind staying up late to finish washing the dishes and clean the worst of the tracked-in mud from the floor. One less chore for Mikkel to worry about.

And of course, there was one other thing he could do to help. Once he found his bedroll—and convinced Kitty to settle on his chest instead of his pillow—he closed his eyes and let his mind drift. Eventually the chaos of the thunderstorm faded into the background. He floated for a while, caught between the waking world and sleep. Then a sheep bleated in his ear, and he knew it had worked. 

“I did it!” The dream sheep ignored this, as they did every time, and continued grazing among the rocky slopes of his haven. His sheepdog cocked its head to the side, then shook itself and trotted away. That was fine. If it didn’t have anything for him to do, he could go exploring again.

Out in the wide expanse of dream sea, something felt...off. The surface of the water was rough tonight—because of the storm? Because of some other force he didn’t understand? No way to know without asking. Maybe he should ask.

He didn’t quite dare to go looking for Onni’s haven, not after last time. The older mage had made it clear that Reynir wasn’t to visit him for anything less than an emergency. Plus, it took longer to get to Onni’s dream space, and that didn’t seem like a good idea in the current...weather. But Onni wasn’t his only friend here.  _ Well. At least, I’m pretty sure we’re friends. He hasn’t told me we  _ aren’t  _ friends.  _ Lalli never told him much of anything, even here where they could understand each other. Tonight, though, Reynir was determined to get an answer out of him.

“Halló? Lalli?” Reynir crossed the short distance to the other mage’s haven, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face when his foot sank into the marshy ground. He windmilled his arms, righted himself, and nearly fell again when Lalli appeared in front of him.

“What are  _ you  _ doing here?”

“Lalli!” Reynir stopped just short of hugging the other mage. He had no desire to get another taste of the water surrounding Lalli’s raft; once was plenty. “I was going to explore out in the dream sea, but it’s all choppy, just like the real ocean. Do you know why? Is it the storm? Can we use magic to fix it?”

Lalli glared, and for a minute Reynir thought he might get mage-blasted anyway. Then he sighed and stepped back so Reynir could climb onto the raft. “You really don’t know anything.”

“I didn’t even know I was a  _ mage,”  _ Reynir pointed out, “You can’t expect me to know how magic works. Especially since you never answer my questions.”

“Maybe if you didn’t ask such  _ stupid  _ questions,” Lalli muttered. But he didn’t send Reynir away. Instead he settled on his raft and gestured for Reynir to do the same.

“Magic,” Lalli took a deep breath, closing his eyes, “Is part of all. Trees. Animals. Me. You.” He opened his eyes again and pierced Reynir with a glare. “The gods watch over all of it. And us, if we know how to ask them. Foreigners like you don’t know.”

“Umm. Technically, aren’t we  _ all  _ foreigners here? Except Mikkel, I guess, if this used to be Denmark, but—”

“Stop.” Lalli covered his ears until Reynir closed his mouth. “That doesn’t matter. The point is, the gods can hear  _ me,  _ but you don’t know how to talk to them.”

“So teach me!” Reynir said. “I know we have different gods, but maybe what works for yours would work for—”

“No!” Lalli’s eyes glowed blue, and the branches around the edges of his haven stirred.

“But  _ why?”  _ Reynir knew he was pushing it, that any second Lalli might toss him out on his ear. But he had to know.

“Because you don’t know when to  _ stop  _ asking!” Lalli was on his feet now, pacing the short distance across the boards. He stalked in a circle around Reynir. Wind whipped his hair and ruffled the fur of his cloak. “Magic isn’t a toy. It’s a tool. The gods could get angry if we ask for stupid things.”

“What’s stupid about asking for better weather? Tuuri told me  _ you  _ did, when you took that train on the way here.” 

“Mrrr.” Lalli squeezed his eyes shut. “That’s not—”

“So you  _ did  _ ask them to change the weather!” Reynir grinned, even as the raft rocked beneath him and the wind tore at his braid. If he was going to get kicked out again, it might as well be for a good reason.

“Asking for light to guide us isn’t the same as asking for a storm to pass so you can wander around the dream world!”

Reynir couldn’t think of a response to that. Maybe Lalli was right; maybe he shouldn’t be pushing this. He was only a clueless shepherd, after all. Not someone like Lalli, who had been training as a mage for years. It was just that—

“I only wanted to help,” he muttered. “I thought I could keep guard. Make sure there aren’t any ghosts creeping around while we sleep.” He rested his head on his knees. “I guess I’m pretty useless.”

Lalli rolled his eyes. “Finally. I’ve been trying to tell you.” He resumed his seat on the raft. After a moment, he said, “But you’re only useless most of the time. You did help once.”

“I did?” Reynir raised his head. Lalli looked away.

“With Onni. Your weird foreign magic found his area so I could talk to him.” Lalli tugged his cloak closer around his shoulders. “So. You know. Thanks for that.”

“I’m just glad I could help!” Reynir couldn’t help himself this time—he caught Lalli in a side-hug. Lalli stiffened, but he didn’t fling Reynir away or dump him off the raft. He allowed the embrace for a moment, then,

“Let go of me.”

Reynir did. When Lalli didn’t say anything else, he offered, “I could...help find Onni’s place again? I mean, it would be easier without the storm, but I could probably still do it.”

Lalli shook his head. “No, not tonight. It’s dangerous out there.” He curled up on his side of the raft with his back to Reynir, then rolled over to add, “You can stay here, if you want. Just this once.”

“All right. If you’re sure.” Reynir stretched out next to him, careful to keep his limbs to himself this time. It was too bad the storm kept him from being any more helpful, but...maybe, in a way, that wasn’t all bad. Maybe he was right where he was supposed to be. 


End file.
